Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming system, an information processing device, a tally information transmission method and a non-transitory computer readable recording medium. The present invention more specifically relates to a technique of causing a tally service server installed on an internet, for instance, to tally up information as to a job executed on the image forming device.
Description of the Background Art
Conventional image forming devices which produce printed outputs based on print jobs store the print job received across the network, for example. In response to receiving change information to change print setting information in the print job, the image forming devices change the print setting information of the stored print job based on the received change information. This known technique is introduced for example in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. JP 2010-221697 A. According to this known technique, the print setting information set by a user is stored on the image forming device together with the print jobs. The print setting information stored with the print jobs is not used for tallying up data such as usage by the user.
In recent years, portable information processing devices such as smart phones and tablet terminals have become popular. With this popularity, dedicated applications which are to be installed on the portable information processing devices are provided. With boot of the dedicated application on the portable information processing device, a job is allowed to be sent to the image forming device from the portable information processing device. For sending the job to the image forming device from the portable information processing device, the user makes a setting operation relating to print settings on a job setting screen displayed by the dedicated application. The user gives a job execution instruction after making the setting operation, then the job including setting information relating to the print settings is sent to the image forming device. As a result, the user is allowed to make the image forming device execute the print job.
A screen size of the portable information processing device is relatively smaller than a screen size of devices such as general personal computers. Thus, it is difficult to show many setting items that may be configured by the user when he or she gives the job to the image forming device on one screen. Also, when the user gives the job by using the portable information processing device, it is rare to have the print settings fully utilizing a wide variety of functions included in the image forming device. In many cases, the print settings using only the basic function on the image forming device are configured. For developing the dedicated application to be installed on the portable information processing device, it is required to construct a user interface which is easy for many users to use. The user interface which is easy for many users to use may be realized by keeping setting items highly used by many users in one screen and constructing a main job setting screen, for example.
In order to construct the user interface which is easy for the user who is using the portable information processing device, it is necessary to design the job setting screen by figuring out in detail what kind of the change does the user make on which setting item of many setting items those may be configured by the user when each user actually uses the portable information processing device to send the print job. A function to establish communication with the tally service server on a cloud such as “Google Analytics” from Google may be equipped with the dedicated application installed on the portable information processing device, and the usage by each user may be tallied up on the tally service server. In such a case, after the user boots the dedicated application and sends the job to the image forming device, the dedicated application sends the setting information as to the job configured by the user to the tally service server. As a result, the setting information configured when the jobs were sent to the image forming device by the various types of users via the portable information processing devices is stored on the tally service server on the cloud. Especially the setting information sent from the portable information processing devices used by the users from all over the world may be tallied up on the tally service server on the cloud. Hence, applications such as version upgrade of the dedicated application may be developed after figuring out the usage by many users.
The generally used tally service server such as aforementioned “Google Analytics” counts up a count value for each tally item set as a label in tally information received over the network, thereby keeping a tally. The portable information processing device generates the tally information including the label. The setting value of each setting item configurable by each user is set as the label. The portable information processing device sends the generated tally information to the tally service server so that the setting values which are set by the variety of users are allowed to be tallied for each setting item on the tally service server. It is assumed, for example, the user sets the printings in both-sided, two pages on a single sheet and in black and white. In this case, the portable information processing device sends the tally information which includes the label as which each of the printings in both-sided, two pages on the single sheet and in black and white is set to the tally service server. “1” is added to the count value corresponding to each of three tally items corresponding to the printings in both-sided, two pages on the single sheet and in black and white on the tally service server. The user may send the job to the image forming device with using the portable information processing device. In such a case, the tally service server is allowed to tally up for each setting item what setting is configured by the user in detail for each of many setting items.
A fee for the usage of the tally service server is charged generally depending on the number of hits on the label, in other words, the count value of the tally item set as the label. As described above, the tally information which includes the label as which the setting value for each setting item configurable by the user is set is sent to the tally service server. In such a case, the count value of the setting value of each setting item reaches extremely large number. The fee charged by the tally service server becomes expensive. The general tally service server for figuring out the usage by many users is not easy to be used.